With this year’s NASCAR racing season at an end, the auto racing industry will be looking forward to 2012, and making plans to promote this exciting sport despite the gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy. The recent ceremonial ground-breaking for the new Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing headquarters to be built on Speedway’s main street, can be seen as a vote of confidence that auto racing will maintain its place as one of the country’s most popular sports.

The streets of Baltimore were transformed into a high speed raceway over the weekend of 2 September to 4 September 2011 for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. The new race now forms part of both the American Le Mans Series and the IndyCar Series. A multi-year contract was signed between IndyCar and Baltimore Racing Development to secure the future of this event. The circuit was laid out past the Inner Harbor and through Baltimore’s downtown area. The course is 3.28 kilometers in length with the Pratt Street intersection being the start and finish line of the event. The first person to win the Baltimore Grand Prix was Will Power.

The Milwaukee Mile is a historical racing track that dates back to 1903. On Sunday, 19 June 2011, the track was filled with cars fighting to win an IndyCar Series race. The Milwaukee 225 was a nail-biting event, with it becoming a race between three drivers, namely Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. But, as misfortune fell upon his rivals, Franchitti’s road to victory was cleared, giving him his third event victory for this season.

The IndyCar community was upset when the news came through that Bridgestone Firestone were not going to renew their contract once the contract ended in 2011. IndyCar has been supplied with tires from Firestone since 1996. Negotiations to reach an agreement that both parties were satisfied with took place over a period of a week and a new contract has been finalized that will see Firestone continue to be the tire supplier for IndyCar until 2013.

IndyCar has allowed a sneak preview of what is to come. Exact dates have not yet been revealed, but the order of racing events and the selected venues have been made available. A few changes to the schedule have been made, but most IndyCar fans have been expecting new venues to be added. The new 2010 IndyCar Schedule will therefore consist of the following changes and venues.